Life Defined
According to dictionary.com:
Life: The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism
Human: A member of the genus Homo and especially of the species H. sapiens.
How can these characteristics be determined?
Humans are a eukaryotic species. A human has 46 chromosomes, (22 autosomes, and 2 sex chromosomes). At present estimate, humans have approximately 20,000-25,000 genes and share 98.5% of their DNA with their closest living evolutionary relatives, the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo, or Pygmy Chimpanzee
Give the above scientific definitions and evidence, life must begin at conception. It is at this point that 46 chromosomes can be counted (excluding special cases - like Downes Syndrome - but the DNA remains the same), and there is growth, response to stimulus, and adaptation to the environment. This is human life.
The other side of what should not even be a debate, says that it is a matter of privacy for a female. This is the largest and most detrimental logical disconnect one can have. Taking a human life is OK it would seem, if someone's privacy is concerned. But of course there is no privacy, no due process, no equal protection, and no right to life for the other individual human - and as defined by science this is a human life.
Others argue that it is not human because it can not live outside the womb. This fails all tests of logic because if not cared for, a newborn also can not live outside the womb. What do you think would happen if you set a newborn on the floor next to a pile of food? Would it 'survive on it's own'? Such foolishness is a rare sight, and sadly enough, this foolishness is not being questioned by the media, my professors, nor by the scientific community. Why not? Is it because of a 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy'? Think again.
Life: The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism
Human: A member of the genus Homo and especially of the species H. sapiens.
How can these characteristics be determined?
Humans are a eukaryotic species. A human has 46 chromosomes, (22 autosomes, and 2 sex chromosomes). At present estimate, humans have approximately 20,000-25,000 genes and share 98.5% of their DNA with their closest living evolutionary relatives, the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo, or Pygmy Chimpanzee
Give the above scientific definitions and evidence, life must begin at conception. It is at this point that 46 chromosomes can be counted (excluding special cases - like Downes Syndrome - but the DNA remains the same), and there is growth, response to stimulus, and adaptation to the environment. This is human life.
The other side of what should not even be a debate, says that it is a matter of privacy for a female. This is the largest and most detrimental logical disconnect one can have. Taking a human life is OK it would seem, if someone's privacy is concerned. But of course there is no privacy, no due process, no equal protection, and no right to life for the other individual human - and as defined by science this is a human life.
Others argue that it is not human because it can not live outside the womb. This fails all tests of logic because if not cared for, a newborn also can not live outside the womb. What do you think would happen if you set a newborn on the floor next to a pile of food? Would it 'survive on it's own'? Such foolishness is a rare sight, and sadly enough, this foolishness is not being questioned by the media, my professors, nor by the scientific community. Why not? Is it because of a 'Vast Right Wing Conspiracy'? Think again.
posted by Edward W. Prather at 19:03
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